1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the disassembly or unthreading of pipe, specifically of oil and gas well drilling pipe and more particularly to an improved method and apparatus for enabling a user to disassemble or destab joints of oil field drill pipe and the like even in offshore marine conditions, e.g. on semisubmersible rigs and the like. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to an improved destabbing apparatus and its method of use wherein a cylindrically shaped sleeve having a hinged body enables the sleeve to be assembled and disassembled to a pair of connected joints of pipe, the lower end of the sleeve having a cam and clamp arrangement that securely fastens the sleeve to the lower of the two pipe joints enabling a user to "destab" (disassemble) the upper joint while the sleeve grips the lower joint.
2. General Background of the Invention
In the oil and gas well drilling industry, it is common to employ drill strings that are comprised of a number of lengths of drill pipe that are connected end to end. In some particular types of joints such as those that employ wedge threads, dovetail threads, taper threads and the like, excess thread wear and thread damage can more easily occur during destabbing operations. Further, rough seas cause floating oil well drilling vessels to pitch so that aligning pipe sections is difficult.